Jan 12, 2017
Since the election, Democrats have struggled with how to respond to
a Donald Trump presidency. But one group is starting to get some
traction - the authors of an online guide that is going viral:
“Indivisible: A Practical Guide for Resisting the Trump Agenda.”
Originally posted as a Google document, the guide was co-written by
former Congressional staffers Ezra Levin and Angel Padilla, who
both received their Master in Public Affairs from Princeton
University’s Woodrow Wilson School, Leah Greenberg, and others. At
the heart of the publication are two ideas: presidential power is
not unlimited, and Congress responds to pressure when applied the
right way. Levin and Padilla use their real-world experience with
the Tea Party as a model for how citizens can keep the pressure on
Congress and get results. In episode #26 of Politics & Polls,
Professors Julian Zelizer and Sam Wang discuss the Indivisible
guide in depth with Levin and Padilla. Levin is D.C.-based domestic
poverty policy wonk. He's served as associate director of
government affairs at the Corporation for Enterprise Development,
deputy policy director for Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) and at
AmeriCorps VISTA in the Homeless Services Division of the San Jose
Department of Housing. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Carleton
College and a Master in Public Affairs from the Woodrow Wilson
School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.
Padilla works for an immigrant rights nonprofit on federal health
care advocacy. Padilla previously worked as an immigration policy
consultant at National Council of La Raza. From 2009 until 2011, he
worked for Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL), advising on issues related
to health care and the Affordable Care Act, among others. Padilla
also has interned with the Department of Homeland Security Advisory
Council and the Foreign Affairs Committee in the House. He is a
graduate of Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public
and International Affairs.